1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheel debris deflection device and more particularly pertains to a new wheel protection device for a vehicle for preventing debris from striking a tire, such as in the case when debris picked up by a front tire is directed toward a rear tire of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The rotation of the wheels of a vehicle is known to lift debris (such as, for example, stones) from the ground surface and project the debris through the air. The amount of debris raised by the wheel can be significant, especially when the vehicle is traveling over a surface covered with loose stones, such as may be found on gravel roads.
The use of devices to attempt to deflect the flying debris is well known in the prior art. Some of these devices are commonly known as mud guards or mud flaps. The devices of the known prior art are intended to intercept debris soon after the debris moves off of the wheel of the vehicle and before the debris achieves any significant altitude above the ground surface. The main purpose of these devices is to protect the body of the vehicle from being struck by the debris and damaging the finish of the body of the vehicle. To a lesser extent, these known devices are also intended to protect persons and vehicles located behind the vehicle from flying debris raised by the wheels of the vehicle. As a result of these primary functions, the known devices have been mounted on the vehicle at a location rearward of the tire so as to be relatively close to the portion of the tire surface that is moving upwardly from the contact patch of the tire with the ground. This location is typically the area where the greatest amount of debris may be intercepted to protect the vehicle body when the vehicle is moving forward.
However, these known devices are rarely fully effective because a gap is typically left between the lowermost extent of the device and the ground surface so that the device does not hit or drag on the ground surface excessively. This gap permits some of the debris to avoid interception by the known devices, especially at low to moderate vehicle speeds when the trajectory path of the debris tends to stay relatively close to the ground surface. In the case of the front wheels of the vehicle, the low flying debris may never impact the body of the vehicle, and this debris is often thrown directly at the rear wheels of the same vehicle. This phenomenon places the rear wheel at risk for being punctured or otherwise damaged by debris being constantly launched by the front wheel at the rear wheel. This problem is especially pronounced in front wheel drive cars where power applied to the front wheel can cause spinning of the wheel relative to the ground surface when the vehicle takes off from a standing stop. The use of vehicle running boards mounted on the body and extending between the front and rear wheels can even deflect the flying debris from the front wheel back downwardly toward the rear wheel.
The wheel protection device for a vehicle according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of preventing debris which is picked up by the front tire from striking the rear tire.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of wheel debris deflection device now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new wheel protection device for a vehicle wherein the same can be utilized for preventing debris which is picked up by the front tire from striking the rear tire.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a mounting bracket for mounting on the front portion of the rear fender of the vehicle, and a debris deflection member being attached to the mounting bracket and being adapted to extend below the fender of the vehicle forward of the rear wheel when the mounting bracket is mounted on the front portion of the fender. The debris deflection member has a curved outer surface for orienting in a forward direction on the vehicle to deflect debris laterally of a path of the rear wheel.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.